Salmon Fantastic

(August 24, 2017 newsletter) — It may be fair to say 2017 is the year of the salmon. It’s quite obvious the fish did not get the memo from government “officials” of dire straits and a depressed season.

No doubt we have groups like Golden Gate Salmon Assoc., Coastside Fishing Club and Golden Gate Fisherman’s Assoc. to thank for organizing highly successful rearing and transportation projects, but how can the predicted returns have be so far off the mark?

Bottom line, catching has bordered on outstanding and just plain good most other days. Certainly, there are a few down sessions when the salmon move on (they do have tails), but overall both bites and weather have been cooperative through the summer.

Due to a cancellation, the Argo has a rare open boat this Sunday. The weather looks excellent and it’s a planned salmon day. Otherwise, weekends are booked into late September.

Elsewhere outside the Gate, rockfish have been playing hide and seek. What is normally a fairly easy fishery to tap has been more of a challenge along the Marin County coastline. We’ve been able to find them, but every trip presents a new adventure – That’s why it’s not called catching.

Inside the bay, undersize halibut are grabbing baits so quick it’s difficult to find a 22-inch keeper. Lots of bites, lots of action with an occasional striped bass in the mix. As fall approaches we should see more bass in the bay, and in fact there are some elusive schools of stripers currently working schools of anchovies.

Leopard sharks are still very active in the bay. Of course, we use barbless hooks for easy release, and all our sharks are returned to bite another day.